Match in the Gas Tank || Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz

28 Nowhere to Hide

There was supposed to be a signal when a team had won, and so far there was none.

Evie knew there was at least one person left from the other team out there with her. She hadn't come across Hawk again, so she could only conclude that he had been taken out, and if that were true, then she had a good idea of who she was searching for. And who had to be searching for her.

So, she kept her eyes peeled and ears open. Any little sound could mean he was nearby and she didn't want to be snuck up on. She started walking back to the entrance, knowing they could be out there forever if it really was just the two of them. She put her hands in her pockets, twirling her fingers around the tangle of headbands he'd collected. She was pretty proud of them, but didn't let pride go to her head. She had to remain focused.

Then something moved and Evie stopped. It was far too big to be a squirrel, too low to the ground to be a bird. Her blood pumping with excitement and adrenaline, preparing her for a fight. She turned a full circle, eyes scanning every opening in search of her opponent.

Miguel walked out from behind a large tree, approaching slowly. "Phoenix."

She smirked at him, holding her head up. "Miguel."

He didn't show any sign that he was happy to see her. Not even that little good-hearted grin that he gave when they were sparring together. "I know you have the Medal of Honor."

Evie's stance changed, shifting her weight onto both feet as she stared at him, and she didn't try to hide her discontent with that statement. She reached for the chain around her neck, the same chain he'd seen her toying with all day. She pulled it from inside her shirt and held up the medal, but didn't say anything.

Miguel glared, upset and disappointed that she had the medal. "So, did you guys do it together, like you do everything else?"

She looked down as she dropped the medal back into her shirt. "What's it to you?"

"That was wrong and you know it," he told her, licking his lips. He'd already fought Hawk over what happened. He didn't want to fight her, too. Not because of the medal. "Come on, Evie, just hand it over."

"Why do you want it?" She crossed her arms over her chest, not taking her eyes off of him. She could hear her heart in her ears, she was hot, flushed - but it was nothing like when she was with her boyfriend. It was gearing her up for whatever came next. She could see he was upset, but she didn't know why. He shouldn't care about Miyagi-Do, especially after what Sam did. "Is this about Sam?"

"What? No-"

"Because if this is about her, I swear- She's so not worth it."

"So that justifies stealing the medal from her dojo?" She looked down, and for a moment Miguel saw her face soften. "You know what you and Hawk did was wrong, Evie-" it had been a while since she heard him say her name, "All you have to do is give it back and everything will be fine. Come on."

He put his hand out, but she looked at him with disapproving eyes.

"If you want it so bad, come and get it," she said, voice hard and serious. She took a fighting stance, keeping her eyes trained on him.

She didn't like any of it. This was supposed to be their training, they were supposed to be fighting for that. Not the medal. She didn't like how it had come to this, but she wasn't going to bow down to Sam and her dad and their dojo. She wasn't going to let them win again. So if she had to go against Migual to keep that from happening, then so be it.

Miguel took his position, steadied himself, then took a running start at Evie. He didn't want to fight her, but he had not wanted to think she had been a part of the vandalism either. There were some things that were going to be out of his control, he supposed. But he couldn't think about that. All he needed to focus on was the medal and getting it back to where it belonged. Not because of Sam, but because it was the right thing to do.